Zygmunt Witymir Bieńkowski
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Zygmunt Witymir Bieńkowski (2 May 1913
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
– 15 August 1979) was a Polish pilot and a writer of many articles and poems. His No. 303 Squadron RAF diary is held in the Polish Museum and Sikorski Institute in London. Zygmunt Witymir Bieńkowski was the son of Leopold Bieńkowski (1883–1942) and Zofia Braun (1891–1943). His father was a Polish Member of Parliament from 1922 to 1928. Both his parents died in
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...
camps. Trained as a pilot at
Polish Air Force Academy The Polish Air Force Academy ( Polish: ''Wyższa Szkoła Oficerska Sił Powietrznych'' (1994-2018); ''Lotnicza Akademia Wojskowa'' (since 2018)) is located in Dęblin, eastern Poland. Established in 1927 during the interwar period, the Polish Air ...
in
Dęblin Dęblin is a town at the Confluence (geography), confluence of Vistula and Wieprz rivers, in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. Dęblin is the part of the agglomeration with adjacent towns of Ryki and Puławy, which together have over 100,000 inhabitan ...
, he did not fight in Poland in 1939, but was evacuated westwards, escaped to Romania, then to France and on 27 June 1940 arrived in England. During the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
, he served with 55 OTU in Aston Down. In May 1941, he joined No. 245 Squadron. In July 1941, he was transferred to No. 303 Squadron, based at
Northolt Northolt is a town in North West London, England, spread across both sides of the A40 trunk road. It is west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the seven major towns that make up the London Borough of Ealing and a smaller part in th ...
. On 6 November 1941, Bieńkowski claimed a
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...
fighter shot down. On 12 April 1942, his aircraft was shot up by a
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (Shrike) is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the ...
, and he had to force land with collapsed landing gear near the English coast.Biography at the Polish Air Force website
He served from 1 December 1942 until 4 July 1943 as
Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...
of No. 303 Squadron. At that time he was also flying with 315 (Polish) Squadron and on 13 May 1943 was involved in combat with enemy fighters between 11.30 and 13.05. After that, his Spitfire Mk.IX BS242 disappeared from the list and on 6 June 1943, after repairs, was delivered to 303 Squadron. During July 1943, No. 303 Squadron were stationed at
RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey Royal Air Force Kirton in Lindsey or more simply RAF Kirton in Lindsey is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. It is a custom of the RAF (inherited from the RFC) to name its bases after the near ...
, where the newly arrived US Army Air Corps
94th Fighter Squadron The 94th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 1st Operations Group located at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia. The 94th is equipped with the F-22 Raptor. The 94 FS is one of the oldest units in the United States Air ...
had just been assigned. He befriended some of the American pilots, who gave him the affectionate nickname "
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", a play on his family name. From January 1945 to 24 February 1945, he commanded 302. On 24 February, his Spitfire Mk. XVI (TB341, "WX-B") was shot down by flak over Germany near
Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel (district), Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel i ...
and he was taken prisoner. Released by American forces, by the end of the war he was a
wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...
. During the war, he flew 74 sorties, claiming one Bf 109 destroyed and a Fw 190 damaged. He died on 15 August 1979 in London aged 66. He was buried in
Gunnersbury Cemetery Gunnersbury Cemetery, also known as Kensington or New Kensington Cemetery, is a cemetery opened in 1929. Although it is owned and managed by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea,Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...
in 1944.


Military awards

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...
, Silver Cross
Krzyż Walecznych The Cross of Valour () is a Polish military decoration. It was introduced by the Council of National Defense (Poland), Council of National Defense on 11 August 1920. It is awarded to an individual who "has demonstrated deeds of valour and courage ...
(Cross of Valour), 3 times
Vliegerkruis (Airman's Cross) (Netherlands)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bienkowski, Zygmunt Witymir 1913 births 1979 deaths Polish aviators Polish military personnel of World War II Polish male writers Polish World War II pilots Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Airman's Cross Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Shot-down aviators Polish prisoners of war in World War II Writers from Warsaw